Anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd has slammed Japan's whaling research program as ships without harpoons prepare to head for Antarctic waters. Activists called the program “farcical,” citing Tokyo’s plan to resume killing whales in the region this year.

Japanese researchers will be heading this week to the Antarctic
in the framework of the annual whaling campaign in the region,
according to Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research.

However, this time the ships will not be equipped with harpoons
due to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ban imposed on
the Antarctic hunt in March. The court ruling said that Japan’s
Southern Ocean efforts are illegal, as they carry out commercial
hunting practices under the veneer of research.

Three ships will be conducting non-lethal research on whales,
such as sighting surveys and biopsy sampling until the end of
March.

However, Tokyo said that it is poised to resume
“research” whaling hunting by the end of 2015. In
September, Japan submitted a new plan to the International
Whaling Commission (IWC) and its Scientific Committee, which set
an annual target of 333 minke whales for future hunts instead of
900.

The anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd slammed the current Japanese
campaign on Tuesday, saying that Tokyo is collecting data with a
goal to kill more whales in the future.

“The government of Japan's farcical, non-lethal whaling
initiative must be seen in the context of a greater criminal
conspiracy," Captain Peter Hammarstedt from Sea Shepherd
said in a statement.

"Japan's non-lethal program is the equivalent of robbers
casing a bank in preparation for a robbery; the heist that robs
the world of its most majestic creatures."

The Japanese fleet departs twice a year for whaling campaigns to
the Southern Ocean and the Pacific. The latter is not as widely
known internationally and was not specifically mentioned in the
March ruling.

During the North Pacific campaigns, whalers can kill up to 200
minke whales, 50 Brydes, 100 sei whales, and 10 sperm whales,
according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

The whaling campaigns are officially aimed at researching the
contents of whales' stomachs to survey the impact of their
predation on coastal fishing, the Japan Times reported. The meat
of the mammals is usually sold in markets and restaurants.

Activists, particularly those from Australia and New Zealand,
have repeatedly stressed the need to protect the endangered
species.

In addition, a recent study conducted by US scientists from the University
of Vermont revealed that whales are capable of supporting the
ocean ecosystem.